Romania’s 2012 Eurovision participants Mandinga are back with a bang! The group, who performed “Zaleilah” at the Song Contest in Baku, have released new single “Rico”, declaring a never-ending summer season.
About “Rico”
Mandinga, who represented Romania in the Song Contest in 2012, are intent on making summer last all year round with their new single “Rico”. While the Autumn days grow shorter in the global north, and the southern hemisphere starts feeling spring take full effect, for Mandinga, summer lasts as long as the dancing does. Latest single “Rico” has punchy drums, modern percussion and plenty of horns that sound like a live stage show in your headphones.
Lead vocalist Barbara Isasi sums the track up:
“Rico” is a merengue where nothing bad happens. They… meet dancing, they keep dancing, and that’s where the story stays. No heartbreak, no drama.
Before the group released the track on streaming platforms, “Rico” had found a life in the setlist of Mandinga’s live performances. The band have played the song all summer long, and the official video is taken from one of those nights.
Founder, drummer and producer of the band Chupi Tool describes the meaning of the song:
For us it’s a love song, but it’s also for the people we keep running into at every show. Some of them we’ve been seeing for twenty years, and we met every one of them dancing. So this one’s for them. And yes, it really is rico
The track was written by the group themselves, and is released on the independent MANDINGA PRODUCTION music label.
Listen to “Rico” on streaming:
Spotify:
Apple Music:
YouTube:
Who are Mandinga?
Formed in Bucharest in 2002, Mandinga have created a distinctive, instantly recognisable sound since their creation. With music rooted in salsa, Latin jazz, merengue and cumbia, blended with pop, dance, reparto, reggaetón and sleek electronic touches, Mandinga are predominately a live band first, with the stage experience to prove it. The band have been led by several different singers over the years, each adding their own flair to the project. The most recent iteration of the group is fronted by Madrid-born vocalist Barbara Isasi.
Mandinga’s Eurovision journey
Before the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest took place in Baku, Romania held their SelecÈ›ia NaÈ›ională 2012 national final to choose the entry that would represent them at the Contest. 15 entries took part in the televised final, with Mandinga and the song “Zaleilah” earning the ticket to Eurovision.
At the Contest in Azerbaijan, Mandinga performed their track “Zaleilah” in the first of the Semi-Finals. The group placed third in their Semi-Final, qualifying to the Saturday Grand Final. At the close of voting in the Final in Baku, Mandinga would place 12th with 71 points.
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News Source: Mandinga / Spotify / Instagram
Image Credits: Daniel Dumitru